It`s easier for the authors to stuff Janeway into the fridge than Chakotay. This way they don`t have to deal with a female captain unless it`s one that they put in place (Ro, Ezri).

Have you actually read the books? Janeway was replaced with a female captain, Afsarah Eden.

Female characters usually get the short end of the stick unless they`re the star of the show like Buffy, etc. In an larger group, even though one or two characters may be more like a traditional leading character, women usually end up on the losing end as time goes on.

Not in Trek Lit. We have tons of central female characters. Kira has been the commander of DS9 since the start of the post-finale novels. Ezri Dax is captain of the Aventine now. In SCE/Corps of Engineers, Sonya Gomez was the commander of the SCE team and the lead character of the series. The Destiny trilogy focused largely on Captain Erika Hernandez of the Columbia. The current command crew of the Enterprise in the post-Nemesis TNG novels is mostly female. Over on Titan, Captain Riker's chief advisors -- his first officer and his wife/diplomatic officer -- are both female, and so is his science officer. And the current President of the United Federation of Planets in the novels, one of the most popular recurring characters in the line, is a woman.

Thanks for responding Christopher. Love your work on Titan.

I guess you missed the part of my post where I said ``This way they don`t have to deal with a female captain unless it`s one that they put in place``

Kira was in command of DS9 at the end of the series and now, unlike her male counterparts, has gotten herself to a nunnery. When was the last time Picard resigned and became a monk?

Ro is now in command, a position she was placed in by the authors of the books. Again, see the bold portion above. This also applies to Afsarah Eden.

I didn't say that there were no female characters. I said that they usually get the short end of the stick as compared to their male counterparts.

The TNG crew of late has been such a mess that we don't know what will happen with them. However, T'Lana was the most promenent member of the crew to oppose Picard, essentially commiting mutiny.

I did not inter my comments to mean that there are no well written female characters or that all male characters are well written. However, comparing the two, the females are treated less well by the stories than their male counterparts.